c 
 
 The Miami Bulletin ^ 
 
 (Alumni Edition) 
 
 [Published monthly by Miami University and entered at the Post Office at Oxford, 
 Ohio, as Second Class Mail Matter,] 
 
 SERIES V 
 
 OCTOBER. 1906 
 
 NUMBER 8 
 
 MIAMI IN THE CIVIL WAR 
 
 Alumni Address Delivered June 13, 1906, by Dr. Stephen Cooper 
 
 Ayres, of the Class of ’61 
 
 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Alumni Association, 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: — 
 
 When you did me the honor to elect me to deliver the an- 
 nual address on this occasion, I naturally cast about for some- 
 thing- to say. Those who graduated more than forty years 
 ag-o naturally become reminiscent, and I am not an exception 
 to the rule; in fact, I always become reminiscent whenever I 
 return to Oxford. I cannot help it. I look around and see 
 but few of those who were in colleg-e in my time. New 
 faces, new teachers, new buildings, a new order of things 
 generally, nothing is natural but the old college campus, with 
 its fine old forest trees. 
 
 There they stand as they did more than forty years ago, 
 but stronger and more vigorous than they were when we were 
 boys, and we, who enjoyed their grateful shade then, are now 
 in the sear and yellow leaf. College life is very much the 
 same everywhere, but that ante-bellum period, covering four 
 years previous to 1861, was different from that which any other 
 students ever experienced since the foundation of our govern- 
 ment. The air was filled with vague rumors of impending 
 trouble between the North and the South. We could not 
 comprehend or fathom them, we only listened and waited for 
 developments. The young men who were in college during 
 the two or three years preceding the outbreak of the great 
 Civil War in 1861, had an experience which can never be re- 
 peated. There were questions of the most vital importance to 
 our country under discussion, and we naturally took a lively 
 
interest in them. Slavery existed over the entire Southern 
 States, and the politicians were trying* to prepare the way to 
 extend it over the broad West, which was then rapidly filling- 
 up with settlers. The new States were peopled by men who 
 differed widely on this point, and the irrepressible conflict over 
 the extension of slavery was imminent. The politicians of 
 the South saw that if the new States which were likely to be 
 formed, were to be free, they would in time lose the power 
 which they held. Colleg-e boys could not help knowing- and 
 feeling- something of this mighty question of slavery which 
 was in the air. We had heard our parents talk about it from 
 our earliest recollection, and now it was assuming threaten- 
 ing proportions. It was this atmosphere in which we lived and 
 grew, an atmosphere which was dimmed by a cloud on the 
 horizon, of something in the future, but what, no one could 
 tell. Still our college life was pleasant and agreeable. That 
 was before the days of foot ball and base ball and those ath- 
 letic games which at certain seasons of the year, absorb so 
 much attention now. We had our gymnasium and our liter- 
 ary societies, our Chapel speeches, and our Junior orations 
 and many things to occupy our time and interest. Two hun- 
 dred pounders were not at a premium then as they are now to 
 buck the line. Our contests were rather intellectual than 
 physical, and yet we thought we had a good time. In those 
 days a man was taught to declaim and write and debate, to 
 think on his feet and repel the thrusts of his opponent. In 
 all this there has been a decadence, and from the standpoint 
 of an old grad, it is to the disadvantage of the college boy 
 of today. 
 
 Speaking of the influence of literary societies, Rev. Dr. 
 H. M. MacCracken, in the Diamond Anniversary Volume, says, 
 “No Professor was so valuable to many a student as was his 
 literary society. No class room was so attractive as his Liter- 
 ary Hall. No wit or humor more talked of than that which 
 flashed out during the attritions of society debates. No po- 
 sition was so much sought as an appointment to be one of the 
 four speakers at the annual exhibition. This explains largely 
 why Miami in those days trained and commissioned so many 
 men for service in the political field. The subjects that 
 engaged the brightest minds, were politico-moral questions. 
 
Time and encouragement were afforded by the Academic con- 
 dition at Oxford for their consideration. In comparison with 
 these questions, natural science, literature, art, pedagogy, 
 seemed dull and distant.” 
 
 Boys scarcely out of their ’teens, discussed the most pro- 
 found questions of politics and religion, the rights and wrongs 
 of people, states and governments. We certainly thought we 
 had a right to discuss, and discuss we did the questions then 
 uppermost in the minds of the people. From ’59 to ’61, we 
 had quite a number of men from the South; they were splen- 
 did fellows and fraternized on the most friendly terms with 
 the men of the North. Because they were from the slave 
 states, or because their fathers were slave owners made no 
 difference. 
 
 Among the great questions which we talked about were 
 slavery and secession. There was much conjecture as to 
 secession, and the burning question was, what was the South 
 going to do? We did not fully comprehend the meaning of 
 the Missouri Compromise or the other questions relating to 
 slavery, which were prominent. The mutterings of the storm 
 which was to break upon us in ’61, were heard and we listened 
 to know what it all meant. Little did we realize how much 
 these premonitions of the coming conflict meant to all of us. 
 Little did we realize that we would stand face to face with 
 our Southern college friends in mortal combat. I well re- 
 member that the question of coercion was warmly discussed. 
 If the South should attempt to go out of the union, would 
 the government coerce them or would it allow them to break 
 the country into two sections? 
 
 The first event to startle us was the John Brown raid 
 into Virginia. It was the work of a wild fanatic and was 
 not endorsed by anyone that I know of. He received the 
 punishment he deserved, but the incident left a sore spot. 
 
 The firing on Ft. Sumter produced a profound sensation. 
 Lectures and lessons were forgotten, the excitement was in- 
 tense, and we at once with the greatest enthusiasm, decided 
 to stand by the Government, and take our chances in the ar- 
 bitrament of war. Without hesitation we enlisted and formed 
 a company of College and village boys. Orzo Dodds of the 
 Seniors was elected Captain of the University Rifles, as we 
 
called ourselves, and he began to drill us in the manual of 
 arms. I remember our drilling on the Campus and up and 
 down the village streets. 
 
 The parting from Oxford, few of us I am sure will ever 
 forget. We were drawn up in line on the west side of the 
 Campus. There the ladies of Oxford presented us with our 
 Company colors, and also gave each one a copy of the New 
 Testament. We went to the station, escorted by hundreds of 
 the citizens, and amid cheers and enthusiasm, started for Co- 
 lumbus. We arrived there the next morning about three 
 o’clock. As we passed through the gates of Camp Jackson, I 
 heard some wretch say as he looked at the end of the proces- 
 sion, about where Palmer Dunn and I and some of the short- 
 ies were, “Oh pshaw, they are too small.” 
 
 Our first experience there was a novelty in every sense of 
 the word. To discard books for guns was a big jump. To 
 exchange Mrs. Hughes’ delightful table for Uncle Sam’s ra- 
 tions was a great come down to some of us at least, but we 
 enjoyed it; it was a picnic then. 
 
 Our longest camp previous to entering Virginia was at 
 Zanesville. Here we got down to serious work; drilling ev- 
 ery day, guard mounting, guard duty, the manual of arms; 
 everything had to be learned, but we were apt students and 
 took pride in our work. I recall our company drill with big 
 Bob Adams at the head of the line. I used to think he had a 
 spite at us little fellows at the other end. With giant strides 
 he went forward, just to make us at the tail end of the line 
 run for our lives. He looked like a fighter, with his broad 
 shoulders proportioned to his height, and his red face and 
 red hair, and he proved himself to be one. He came out with 
 a star on his shoulder straps. 
 
 Our company became Company B, 20th O. V. I., and it 
 gave a good account of itself in West Virginia, until its term 
 of service expired. Our service was principally doing guard 
 duty on the B. & O. R. R. We did not get into a fight, but 
 tried to one day, when the Confederates were retreating after 
 the battles of Rich Mountain and Carricks Ford. We were 
 at Oakland, Md., only a few miles from the pike on which they 
 were retreating. It has always seemed to us that if the rank- 
 ing officer of our troops had had even one grain of sand in 
 
his composition, we would have met the enemy, and then per- 
 haps we mig-ht have wished ourselves back on the College 
 Campus. We were mustered out in August, having served 
 four months. After our muster out, the boys scattered to 
 their homes, but the majority of them re-enlisted and served 
 until the war closed. 
 
 But our first volunteers company B, 20th O. V. I., were 
 not the only soldiers Miami sent out to the war. In 1862 the 
 President called for more three months men to relieve 
 the veterans then on duty at various points, so that the sea- 
 soned soldiers could go to the front, and allow the short term 
 men to take their places. Our now venerable Prof. R. W. 
 McFarland, (and I am happy that he is still with us) organ- 
 ized a company which became a part of the 86th Regiment. 
 Sixty-six students representing five different states went with 
 him and they served four months in West Virginia. They 
 were known as the Crack Company, and drilled better and 
 performed more satisfactory service, than any other company 
 in the regiment. The Professor brought all his boys home, 
 and then resumed his professional duties. In the next year, 
 1863, the President issued a call for six months men, and again 
 Professor McFarland went to the front with a company about 
 one-third of which were students of the University. He was 
 promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and did active service in 
 checking the Morgan Raid, and later on at Cumberland Gap, 
 Tenn. assisted with his regiment to bring about the surrender 
 of the confederate troops at that point. May he live many years 
 to enjoy the honors he earned and deserved, the only surviving 
 member of the faculty of the war times. 
 
 In the fall of 1862, when Kirby Smith threatened Cincin- 
 nati, a call was made for volunteers to protect the border. 
 The response from Miami was prompt, and nearly every stu- 
 dent enlisted. A company was raised in Oxford, composed of 
 college students, village and country boys. Mr. Chas. H. Fisk 
 was elected Captain. The regiments raised in the state for 
 this service were called Squirrel Hunters, probably on account 
 of the dangerous weapons they carried. Their arms were 
 collected principally from the farm houses, and consisted of 
 single and double barrel shot guns and fowling pieces of 
 various patterns. 
 
The Oxford Company guarded the bridge on the B. & O. 
 R. R. near North Bend, Ind., until the raiders were safely out 
 of this state. Charley Fisk did not have an opportunity to 
 show his Kentucky valor but we know that he has a big - stock 
 of it. 
 
 Thus on four different occasions did Old Miami send her 
 sons out to battle for the preservation of the union. All 
 honor to her for her loyalty! 
 
 It is quite impossible to get an accurate estimate of the 
 number of Miami students who entered the service. I am 
 quite sure the names reported in the Diamond Anniversary vol- 
 ume underestimate the real number. 
 
 I have tried to approximate the number of those who 
 wore the blue and the gray, and it is as follows: Of the class 
 of ’58, 30 per cent.; ’59, 30 per cent.; ’60, 47 per cent.; ’61, 66 
 per cent.; ’62, 28 per cent.; ’63, 42 per cent.; ’64, 32 per cent. 
 
 This record up to ’61 covers only those who took their 
 degrees. Many who attended Miami, previous to ’61 and who 
 did not graduate, enlisted, and so did some who would have 
 graduated after ’61. 
 
 Major Chamberlain, in his sketch of the University 
 Rifles, as our Company was called in the Diamond Anniver- 
 sary volume says, “It ^is to the credit of the morals of the 
 University, that no bitterness was engendered between the 
 students representing the warring sections of the country. 
 When the flag was fired on, sides were promptly taken, and 
 the Southern students with quiet decorum and even with sad- 
 ness, separated from their classmates as became gentlemen, 
 and departed to take up arms, probably to fight directly 
 against their College friends. ” 
 
 What better evidence of the cordial and friendly feeling 
 existing between the students of the North and the South, 
 than the way in which the remains of that brilliant young 
 man Joel Allen Battle were treated, after that terrible conflict 
 at Shiloh? During the first day the Union troops were driven 
 back, and back — to the river, and there they rested until 
 morning. On the second day’s fight, the Confederates lost 
 all the ground they had gained the previous day, and were 
 driven back with severe loss. This was why Battle’s body 
 was found within the Union lines and why he was recognized 
 
hj his former friends, Adjt. John C. Lewis, Adjt. Cliff. 
 .Ross and Capt. John R. Chamberlain. They made a rude 
 coffin of cracker boxes, in which they placed his body and 
 then affectionately consigned it to mother earth. Capt, 
 Chamberlain, in writing of the event says, “None of us three 
 who knew him in life as we stood and saw the earth covering 
 his dead body, had any other thought, than that we were lay- 
 ing to his last rest, a gallant soldier, a sincere man, who 
 thought that the right was a thing to die for, and that he 
 believed with all his ardent soul, that the cause in which he 
 fought was just and rig'hteous.” 
 
 Other colleges all over the land were quite as patriotic as 
 Miami, and sent their sons out to fight for the government. 
 I can only mention a few of them: Marietta College, located 
 as it is on the border, and directly across the river from Vir- 
 ginia, quickly felt the influence of the mighty struggle which 
 was beginning-. This college was literally founded by those 
 men who fought under Washington for our independence. 
 A colony of them came west as early as 1788, and established 
 their homes in the then wild and unsettled frontier, and 
 founded the town of Marietta. The sons of these men have 
 been among the guardians and patrons of this college ever 
 since. Is it any wonder that their sons promptly responded 
 to the call to arms when the attempt was made to destroy the 
 government their forefathers had helped to found? The mil- 
 itary record of this institution shows the stuff its boys were 
 were made of. Thirty-five per cent, of its Alumni, who were 
 liable to military service during the war period, were in the 
 service in addition to a large number of undergraduates and 
 preparatory students. 
 
 Some were peculiarly affected from their geographical lo- 
 cation. In Princeton nearly one-third of the students were 
 from the South. There was much excitement about the 
 giving of diplomas to the graduating class, many of whom 
 would be in the Confederate army before commencement. A 
 curious thing was seen then which could not be seen in any 
 other country. The boys were all anxious to drill and learn 
 the manual of arms, and in the early days before the Southern 
 boys went home, they actually drilled in the same companies 
 with their Northern friends. 
 
After the firing: on Sumter, Dr. McLean advised the 
 Southern students to go home. He assured them of his af- 
 fection and regret at parting-, and promised that they would be 
 followed by fervent prayers throughout the troublous times 
 which were likely to follow. In their autograph books, which 
 were popular then, the Southern boys wrote C. S. A. after 
 their names. One says: “My country is in arms against 
 yours, but there will always be friendship among classmates.” 
 When a hundred or more of them left for their homes, they 
 were escorted to the station by the Northern students, and 
 they parted the best of friends. 
 
 From the Harvard Memorial Biographies, I find that 
 those who entered the army embraced about one-sixth of the 
 whole number. Those were the picked men of the surround- 
 ing country, and could not but make good soldiers. “They 
 did not enter the army to make it a profession, but to stay as 
 long as the country needed their services. Although they 
 found the hardships and exposure greater than they antici- 
 pated, yet they did not turn back, but kept resolutely on, de- 
 termined to see it out. The same hand that could load the 
 rifle or strike with the sword was ready when the war was 
 over to settle down to peaceful ways, many actually returning 
 to their studies and unfinished courses.” 
 
 In the South the colleges were practically broken up 
 during the war. The students and professors joined army 
 very early in sufficient numbers to close the various institu- 
 tions. The financial condition was such that they could not 
 exist. The age of enlistment was lowered to sixteen, so that 
 nearly all of the students were liable to service. These col- 
 lege boys of the South gave a good report of themselves as 
 soldiers, and showed that the blood of the colonial fathers, 
 who fought for our independence, was still alive in their veins. 
 
 I am quite sure that most of you have never heard of the 
 battle of Newmarket, Va., which was fought on the 15th of 
 May, 1864. The opposing Generals were Gen. Sigel on the 
 Union side, and Gen. John C. Breckenridge on the Confeder- 
 ate side. The Confederates were hard pressed for men, and 
 were calling out their reserves. Under the State laws, boys 
 of sixteen were held a part of the reserves and liable to be 
 called out in an emergency. This is why the Cadets of the 
 
Virginia Military Institute happened to take part in this 
 battle. They were ordered to the front, under command of 
 one of their Professors, Col. Ship. It was the intention of 
 the commanding officer to put them in the reserve on account of 
 their youth, and use them only should he need them. Two 
 hundred and twenty-five of these boys, from sixteen to eight- 
 een years of age, responded and were placed in line. They 
 were splendid specimens of young manhood, and full of en- 
 thusiasm and anxious to do credit to their institution. A 
 battle is not always fought out as it is planned; many things 
 may occur to modify the movements of troops which could not 
 be anticipated, and so it was with these brave cadets. By 
 one of the sudden changes of position, these boys were 
 brought into the thickest and hottest part of the fight, and 
 eight were killed and forty-six were wounded, in a charge 
 which tried the courage of even the veterans. 
 
 A writer on that battle says: “It was in the second ad- 
 vance of the rebel line that the Lexington Cadets suffered so 
 much. In advance of the main line, they came dashing up 
 to the very muzzles of our guns, their impetus carrying them 
 in many instances over and beyond us.” 
 
 One of our Southern boys from just across the border, 
 recalls in a letter the 22d February 1861. It was our custom 
 then to have speeches in the Chapel, and the way the Ameri- 
 can eagle screamed and flapped his wings on such occasions 
 was something ever to be remembered. On this particular 
 occasion, he was one of the speakers. Although one of the 
 youngest, he had a silvery tongue. His eloquence charmed 
 us all and we listened to the patriotic words which flowed 
 from his lips. His earnestness and sincerity could not be 
 doubted, his heart was full of patriotism, as he referred to 
 the great speech of Webster, in which he prayed that the veil 
 might never be lifted that would disclose States, “dissevered, 
 discordant, belligerent.” “Never did youthful heart beat 
 with warmer love for flag and country;” these are his words 
 to me. But what a change in a few weeks after that speech 
 was made. Sumter was fired on, and he took the first train 
 for his home, and promptly entered the lists to fight against 
 the country, he so warmly upheld on the 22d February. This 
 one act shows what influenced many to go into the Confeder- 
 
ate Army. They felt that they must go as the South went, 
 whether it was right or wrong. That feeling was a danger 
 which menaced the country, until the cause of it — slavery — 
 was wiped out of existence. Thank God, no such feeling can 
 ever arise again. His experience in the Confederate Army 
 was not happy; how could it be otherwise, when his heart 
 was really divided? He says, “My relation to the whole con- 
 flict was a peculiar one; for me personally it was a period of 
 trial, humiliation and chastening.” Now that it is all over 
 he says, “The destruction of the Union would have been deep- 
 ly hurtful to the best interests of mankind. The Lord be 
 praised that we are one people more perfectly than ever before. 
 Here in the South-land, I find an intensely National sentiment 
 coexisting with indescribable tenderness for the ‘Lost Cause.’ 
 But practically it is to them a glorious memory that reinforces 
 every lofty sentiment of devotion to the old flag and to 
 our common country. The loss is simply that of the stars 
 that have faded in the light of a perfect day. We remember 
 the stars, but we walk and work in the light of the sun.” 
 The sentiments expressed in this letter as to the loyalty of 
 the South at the present time to the stars and stripes, cannot 
 be questioned. The late war with Spain, if it may be digni- 
 fied with that title, showed how quickly the Southern men re- 
 sponded to the country’s call. They vied with the North in 
 their haste to enter the service, and showed the soldierly 
 qualities, which they had inherited from their fathers. 
 Should a foreign war ever menace our country, no section will 
 show itself more active in defending the Union, then the 
 men of the South. Many an ex-confederate has expressed 
 himself satisfied with the present condition. It is inconceiv- 
 able that we could have a divided country, and yet make the 
 progress we should make to hold our position in the great 
 family of Nations. United we stand, divided we fall, is 
 true of us in a most emphatic manner. The tremendous 
 progress we have made since the close of that great struggle 
 is due to the fact that we now represent a united world-power, 
 which commands the respect of every nation on which the sun 
 shines. The most friendly feeling toward the South exists 
 everywhere in the North. Commercial relations of a recip- 
 rocal nature exist between the sections which bind them to- 
 
gather by a common financial bond. The inter-dependence 
 of one section on another is recognized, and so harmony ex- 
 ists since “Cotton is no longer king.” Capital of the North 
 has for years been flowing to the South, and has enabled that 
 country to develop its latent and almost inexhaustible re- 
 sources. More is yet to come, when the labor question is 
 satisfactorily settled. 
 
 The Confederate General, J. B. Gordon, in speaking of 
 the affection of the South for the graves of her sons, says, 
 “But does that fact lessen her loyalty to the proud emblem 
 of a re-united country? Does her unparalled defence of 
 the now dead Confederacy, argue less readiness to battle for 
 this ever living Republic, in the making and administering of 
 which she bore so conspicuous a part.” Again he said that, 
 “The issues which divided the sections were born when the 
 Republic was born, and were forever buried in an ocean of 
 fraternal blood. This Republic, rising from a baptism of 
 blood with a National life more robust, a National union more 
 complete and a National influence ever widening, shall go for- 
 ever forward in its benign mission to humanity.” 
 
 Can we estimate the influence of these years of army life 
 on a young man of liberal education, and inspired with patriot- 
 ism? Everything is so real, so - earnest and so impressive at 
 that time. It certainly must modify him in certain ways, and 
 develop him in new and unusual lines. A man in the army 
 is a part of the unit, a very small part of a great fighting 
 machine. He is taught obedience, strict obedience to his su- 
 perior officers. He is to ask no questions and to make no ob- 
 jections to any order. He is to do as he is ordered, no matter 
 what the consequences may be. He also learns what comrade- 
 ship means. He learns that he must be able to depend on 
 those on the right and left of him. He knows that they must 
 all move as a unit. The same applies to regiments and bri- 
 gades; each depends on the other to do its duty in time of 
 danger. But a man also learns to command as well as to obey. 
 In an official position, an officer has a right to expect implicit 
 obedience; in no other way can we have an army which will 
 be efficient. 
 
 Our college boys filled both positions, and filled them 
 well. The Civil war developed a military spirit which was 
 
latent, and only needed a suitable occasion to develop it. 
 Our country had been blessed with peace so long we did not 
 know whether we had any fighting material in us or not. 
 The story of the Revolution was as ancient history, and few 
 of us ever saw a man who was actually engaged in that mem- 
 orable struggle with England. The war of ’12 was soon over 
 and many of us associate it only with the battle of Lundy’s 
 Lane and Perry’s victory on Lake Erie. The war with Mex- 
 ico was not much to our credit, and did not call forth any 
 patriotic spirit. So that when the civil war broke out, two 
 generations had passed since the days of our colonial fore- 
 fathers. We read of the Crimean war, but it was between 
 nations with whom we were on friendly terms, and we watched 
 the movements with interest, wondering whether we might 
 ever have such a conflict. It required a great question like 
 threatened destruction of the Union, to develop the military 
 qualities of both sides. That question was settled once and 
 for all. The Americans can fight and will fight when it is 
 necessary, but the} r prefer peace. We have no great standing 
 Army as they have in European countries, and we are not 
 burdened by an enormous tax to support men to protect our 
 borders. But should a just cause arise, the army will be 
 promptly forthcoming, which will be the superior in intelli- 
 gence to any in the world. 
 
 The armies on both sides which fought the Civil war, 
 were citizen soldiers, men who from patriotic sentiments 
 enlisted to serve their country until the war ended. Then 
 they quickly and willingly dropped into their former peaceful 
 ways of life. Their swords were broken into plowshares, 
 and their army life was to them only a memory. What shall 
 we say of these two great armies, which stood face to face for 
 four years? For general intelligence, for initiative, for 
 bravery in every kind of danger, for resourcefulness, for 
 hopefulness under gloomy conditions, where can you find in 
 history their equal? But it is not far to see why this was so. 
 The military spirit which was born when our forefathers 
 fought for their liberties and their rights against the oppres- 
 sion of England, has descended to the present generation. 
 The additions to our population in all these years of liberty- 
 loving emigrants who came to this country to escape oppres- 
 
>sion abroad, their intermarriage and gradual assimilation, 
 make a new and composite people who possess qualities supe- 
 rior to any nation on the earth. These were the citizen soldiers 
 who took up arms against each other in 1861. 
 
 We have millions of citizen soldiers, who will respond 
 when the necessity arises. The Civil war was a blessing in 
 disguise. It unified the greatest and most intelligent people 
 in the world. It showed that our fighting qualities were equal 
 to the best. It engendered in us a respect for those who lost 
 their lives in battle, which we remotely felt for those who fell 
 in the Revolutionary struggle. It brought that question 
 home to our hearthstones in a very impressive manner. Our 
 friends, our relatives, our fathers and brothers laid down their 
 lives to save the country from destruction. We well know 
 that both sides exhibited equal bravery, and all over this 
 broad land there are vacant chairs which are mourned. We 
 have learned to love and admire these brave men. We have 
 our decoration days when we strew their graves with flowers 
 so that the memories of the men of ’61-’65 will ever be kept 
 green. The spirit of ’61 still lives and will live through gen- 
 erations. In the recent deadly struggle between Japan and 
 Russia, we learned much of the bravery and devotion to 
 their country, of these little brown men. Patriotism is a 
 part of their religion and is much to be admired as a national 
 trait. We have also learned how greatly honored are those 
 who fall in battle. Their brave deeds are held in grateful 
 remembrance; and after that dreadful war was over, services 
 in commemoration of the valiant deeds of those who did not 
 return, were held in cities and towns, all over those far islands. 
 
 The priest who officiates calls the spirits of the fallen 
 from far and near to come and attend the services about to be 
 held in their honor. Then he addresses them as follows: “I 
 reverently address you, spirits of those fallen in this war. 
 We pray this commemorative service will impart some com- 
 fort to you, brave spirits of the dead. Your glorious deeds 
 will go down in history, and our nation will never forget 
 your great sacrifices. Here we offer you our deepest grati- 
 tude for your valiant deeds crowned with success. Spirits 
 above us, we pray you draw nigh and accept our grateful 
 admiration.” 
 
 Let us then call the spirits of those brave young men 
 who lost their lives in the greatest struggle of the past cen- 
 tury. Let us welcome them to this beautiful Campus once 
 more. Let us show them these grand old forest trees which 
 
they loved so well. Let us take them down to the beech trees 
 and show them that time has obliterated the names they once 
 carved on the bark, more than forty years ago. But let us 
 assure them that their names and their deeds are indelibly 
 carved on our hearts, and that we will always hold them in 
 grateful remembrance. 
 
 Alumni Secretary 
 
 Hon. Bert S. Barteow, ’93, is a native of Indiana. At 
 the age of seven he came with his parents to Butler county, 
 Ohio, growing up on the farm and attending regularly the 
 public schools. At the age of 19 he matriculated at Miami, 
 spending one year in the Academy and four in the College of 
 Liberal Arts. In June, 1893, he was graduated a bachelor of 
 arts, with special honors in economics and political science, 
 to which subjects he gave special attention. During his col- 
 lege career he was three times chosen Washington’s Birthday 
 orator by the Erodelphian Literary Society, of which he was 
 an active member, and was also one of the commencement 
 orators of his class. For two years he was manager and 
 editor of the Miami Student, and was one of the charter 
 members of the renewed chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. 
 
 For several years subsequent to his graduation Mr. Bart- 
 low was engaged in journalism, being for a time editor of the 
 Butler County Press and later city editor of the Hamilton 
 Evening Sun. From 1894 to 1898 he served as chief clerk of 
 the Butler County board of deputy state supervisors of elec- 
 tions. In 1897 he was nominated and elected representative 
 from Butler County in the state legislature, winning signal 
 victories at both primaries and polls. Reelected in 1899, he 
 held, during his four years of service, membership on very 
 important committees and was an active worker in the com- 
 mittee room and on the floor. In July, 1903, and again two 
 years later, he was appointed by the Secretary of State a 
 member of the Butler County board of supervisors of elections 
 presiding now over the body which he had earlier served as 
 chief clerk. Last January he was elected Sergeant at Arms 
 of the Ohio Senate for the 77th General Assembly. In July 
 he assumed the duties of his present position as Alumni and 
 Field Secretary of Miami University. 
 
 Mr. Bartlow is member of various fraternal orders. He 
 was editor in chief of the Centennial History of Butler County, 
 Ohio, published in 1905. He is a member of the first Presby- 
 terian Church in Hamilton, where he resides. His office is 
 No. 418 Rentschler Building, Hamilton, Ohio, where he cor- 
 dially solicits correspondence and news items from all gradu- 
 ates and former students of Old Miami.